The present invention relates generally to welding systems, and more particularly to a system and method to facilitate communications and control between one or more welding systems and an automated control cell such as a robot.
Welding systems are often configured in an arrangement, whereby a welder is controlled by a cell or robotic control system. Several of the elements of these systems consist of sending and receiving various control signals that are operative to facilitate the welding process. As an example, analog voltage or current output signals can be employed to control various aspects of the welding process (e.g., gas, wire feed, torch travel, arc dynamics and so forth) such as adjusting various process set points and/or other parameters. Since the welding process is typically operated in a closed-loop manner, several analog signals are also received in response (e.g., closed-loop feedback) to the control output signals. As a consequence of the plurality of control signals that are supplied between the cell controller and the welding system, bulky and somewhat expensive cabling between the systems are generally required to route the various signals.
In some cases, due to the size and number of signals that are to be routed though this type of cabling, one or more controls such as push button inputs and/or other adjustments are provided as manual controls at the welding systems in order to mitigate the number of signals and associated size of the cables. Consequently, manual controls provided as part of the welding process cause operator intervention that generally slows the overall welding process and thereby increases expenses. Other cabling problems are also created since welders generally operate in substantially harsh environments (e.g., large amounts of electrical noise and/or mechanical disturbances). Thus, fairly elaborate shielding of the various control or feedback signals is typically required that impacts the size and the cost of the cable selected for control and/or communications between the systems. As can be appreciated, associated analog interface and/or control modules are provided in the welding system and cell controller to enable control and communications over cables that are coupled between the systems.
Along with the cabling issues described above, other issues are also involved when multiple welding systems are employed with the cell controller. For example, if an additional welding system were to be employed with the single cell controller described above, an additional interface module and respective cable would also have to be supplied per additional welding system to enable control between the cell controller and the welding systems. Consequently, additional component and installation costs are required to xe2x80x9cscalexe2x80x9d a cell controller to communicate and control additional welding systems. Furthermore, more advanced welding system configuration and control arrangements (e.g., tandem, redundant, multi-welder applications) are therefore, generally more expensive to implement. In view of cabling, scaling and manual control problems associated with conventional cell control/welding configurations, there is a need to provide a more cost efficient, automatic and scalable welding system.
The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the present invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the invention nor delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
The present invention relates to a system and methodology to facilitate control and communications between cell controllers, such as robotic control systems, and one or more welding systems. This is achieved by providing a singular communications interface within the cell controller that is operative in place of a plurality of dedicated and/or analog interface modules associated with the control of one or more welding systems. In this manner, bulky and expensive cables supplied to one or more welding systems, along with a separate interface module per cable and additional welding system can be reduced via the singular communications interface adapted to a control network and associated architecture. Thus, the singular communications interface mitigates cost, and facilitates a more robust control architecture over conventional welding systems (e.g., less cables, wires, modules to maintain). Additionally, scalability is provided since subsequent welders can be readily adapted to an existing welding control system without having to add subsequent interface modules in the cell controller. Other features include utilizing digital command and feedback signals over the control network thereby mitigating the need to provide manual control adjustments to one or more welders.
In accordance with the present invention, a communications interface is provided between a cell controller and one or more welding systems, wherein a plurality of various communications protocols can be utilized to facilitate communications and control. For example, this can include sending and receiving control information such as command output signals, synchronization commands, feedback signals and status between a cell or robot controller and one or more welders (e.g., set point, trigger, trim, weld controller feedback). By employing the communications interface and protocol of the present invention, such applications as tandem welding systems, fault detection and/or maintenance, file transfer between welding systems and/or cell controllers, redundant welding systems, and multi-cell coordination and control are greatly facilitated.
The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects of the invention. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed and the present invention is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the drawings.